1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to computer systems for assisting owners in registering their works for copyright protection. In particular, the present invention is directed toward a computer system for analyzing an Internet web site and automatically generating completed copyright registration forms and associated materials (e.g., a copy of the web site and additional copies of user selected individual web site components) to register the web site and user selected individual web site components for copyright protection.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
Briefly, the growth of the World Wide Web (herein referred to as the Web) has been an unprecedented event in the history of computers and telecommunications. Internet traffic has increased from five terabytes (i.e., 10.sup.12 or trillion) a day in the fall of 1994 to 250 terabytes a day in the summer of 1996. Further, personal computer sales will surpass television sales in the United States for the first time in 1996, while data telecommunications traffic will similarly overtake voice traffic. Most of these events can be attributed to the growth of the Internet and the Web.
Although the Web is a wonderful environment to transact business and disseminate information, there are a number of disadvantages that make it unattractive. Specifically, there is typically no provision on the Internet, and the Web in particular, to protect material from being indiscriminately copied and reproduced with impunity. Since the act of transferring files from one computer to another involves substantially exact reproduction of the material, it is difficult to protect that material from unauthorized use. The traditional publishing industry utilizes copyright law to protect printed material, and this same protection can extend to web sites and certain web site components. In order to simplify copyright registration for web site owners desiring copyright protection for their web sites, the present invention converts a web site into the proper format and generates the appropriate completed copyright registration forms and associated materials (e.g., a copy of the web site and additional copies of user selected individual web site components) to register the web site and user selected individual web site components for copyright protection with the appropriate authority (e.g., the Copyright Office).